For the last 30 or so years, fans of Fairport Convention have gathered in Cropredy to celebrate their love for the band and for music in general, meet up with old friends, drink a lot and generally have a jolly good time. And so it was this year with 20-odd thousand of us turning up to enjoy the festival. First time for Gill and I (as so much has been this year) and much to learn.We had travelled down the night before, staying in the car park of a hostelry in Highley, between the railway and the river. It's a nice spot, but the pub seems to exist in a 1970's timewarp, with no customers except us, and a landlord who told us the same highwaymen story twice in the same evening.... a few customers did arrive eventually, but its hard to see how the place keeps going.
We met up with Fiddlestone at the RDV and travelled in convoy down the last few miles of motorway - our VW Caravanette on the back of a string of cars, before joining the long queue that led to the village and the campsite beyond. We quickly had the camp set up, Gill and I marveling at some of the enormous cathedrals that were errected around us, and we set off to have a look at the stage. On of Cropredy's great advantages, to my mind anyway, is that there is only one stage - thereby removing the great amount of stress caused when you have to decide between 2 (or more sometimes!) acts at every turn. Another plus point is the natural amphtheatre in which the stage is placed - and it really is too - the sound was fantastic no matter where you stood, all the way to the very back, which was also the very top....
Rather than detail everything that happened in chronological order, let me outline some of the many highlights of this supurb festival:
Firstly, the end - an amazing and emotional occasion not witnessed at any other festival I've been to. The audience take to their feet as,at just on midnight, Fairport gather up their set and get as many contibutors as will fit onto the stage to play "Meet on the Ledge" - Richard Thompson's evocative anthem of hope that the entire audience hold hands to and joins in with.
This follows the other traditional occasion at Cropredy - the very long set from Fairport themselves - a drawn out affair that has tongues wagging for months beforehand as to who will be there, whether Dave Swarbrick will be fit enough to play, and so on. That said, once it arrives, it is stupendous and Fairport feed on the obvious love of their public and seem to be able to up the ante that extra bit more at such times. This year was no exception.
Earlier in the programme there was one of the highlights of my year, never mind the festival - The Muffinmen! The Muffinmen are a Liverpool band who play the music of Frank Zappa and Captain Beefheart as it should be played - loud and live! Featuring vocals from original-"Mother of Invention" Jimmy Carl Black, they rock through lots of favourites, including "Flower Punk" - a kind of "Hey Joe.." and a "Drive My Car/Come Together" Beatle medley. They are all fine players, but the lead guitarist Carl Bowry earned major credit from Fiddlestone's Les who knows a thing or two about guitarists himself.... playing sometimes with a tiny bow and seemed to me not to be emulating Jimmy Page (my baseline guitar hero), but taking things on a stage or two from there. The Muffinmen also use brass to the fore and I was completely taken with them.
It only rained for a few hours during the whole weekend, and that put a bit of a damper on The Hampsters who rocked their way through the range of classics in fine style and made the sunshine reggae of T & LaTouche seem a bit out of place, but they spread their own brand of sunshine anyway. The sun returned about the same time as Beth Nielsen Chapman appeared on stage and played a powerful and moving set.
Interesting, but less shining was the attempt by Jah Wobble to jazz up Traditional English Folk - I admire the man's music and I think I could see what he was trying to do, but it didn't seem to gell very well in the live environment, not helped perhaps by the lead vocalists' apparant shyness. Good to see Jean-Paul blowing away on his pipes again anyway.
Richard Thompson is a god in some circles - and I have been looking forward to seeing him perform for some years. Cropredy finaly gave me my chance and I ende dup having to concur with Gill (not for the first time!) that he is not everything he's cracked up to be. A good song writer and brilliant guitarist maybe, but he seems to lack a little when singing solo - (listen to me Mr Superstar Singer!!!) - but I was pleased to see him and was delighted to be able to sing along to "Wall of Death". Richard was backed by the legendary (and also godlike) Danny Thompson on bass - don't start me on him - he really is the business!
Thanks to Leon's for the catering (again!) and to the man from the Hand Made Soap Stall who introduced us to the great sport of coat hanger throwing late one night when everyone else had gone to bed!
Its a fine festival Cropredy, but it seemed a little less social than some of the others we've been to - no sitting round playing until the wee small hours here, and not one of Floppy's natural environments either. It seems that 2006 will see Steeleye Span on stage, and we'll be there too all being well.
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